Photo by John Hardy
Recently, I spoke with our Director of Golf, Kevin Maciorowski, here at Westlake Golf and Country Club with the question, “What is the biggest mistake new or seasoned golfers make?” Kevin’s answer was very informative and something we should keep in mind as we continue playing the game we love!
I have been teaching golf for over 30 years and the most common mistake in my opinion is poor weight distribution and transfer. Most mishits are caused by too much lateral movement on the backswing which moves the center of the player’s body onto their back foot (right foot for a right handed golfer) and they simply can’t get their weight back to center consistently.
Also, many players attempt to lift the ball off the ground and stay on their back foot, while trying to hit up on the ball to lift it in the air. This can cause all kinds of problems with the swing plane and achieving solid contact. This is why I teach players to stay centered as much as their body’s strength and flexibility will allow.
On the backswing the player should focus on swinging the clubhead back with very minimal weight transfer but continuing to concentrate on turning their shoulders. Then on the downswing through to the finish the player’s goal should be to finish with most of their weight on their front foot with their chest and belly button facing the target.
